The present invention relates to seals, particularly to heated or vacuum actuated vehicle compartment and door seals, and more particularly to anti-freezing seals for vehicle compartment lids or doors, and which may include a heated embodiment with thermostatic controller and timer and electrical connector therefor, for activating and controlling an electrical power supply for heating an element within the seal, and to a vacuum actuated embodiment which is collapsed by vacuum pressure whereby the seal is withdrawn from the door or lid.
In cold climates, it is common to have the doors and/or compartment (truck) lids, as well as compartment lids on utility vehicles, freeze shut. The freezing is usually due to moisture which accumulates on the door or compartment lid edges and/or the seals located about the openings covered by the doors or compartment lids. One of the common approaches to opening frozen doors, for example, has been to pour hot water around the edges, which melts the ice and allows the door to open. However, in weather conditions wherein the temperature is below freezing, the pouring of hot water is a mere one time solution as the water will quickly freeze and, unless the door is maintained open for a period of time, it will freeze shut again. A more recent solution to this door freezing problem is the use of blow-dryers which heat the ice accumulated on the door edges or seals, thus allowing the door to open. Again, unless the blow-drying is continued to melt any remaining ice and dry the door edges and seal, in freezing temperature conditions the door will refreeze shut after being closed for a time period. In severe freezing conditions, vehicle doors have been known to freeze shut during operation creating an unsafe condition for occupants of the vehicle. However, under such conditions, the frozen door can be forced open from within the vehicle, which often causes damage to the door seals. Similar lid freezing problems arise in vehicle trunks and utility-type vehicles which have storage compartments. If no hot water or blow-dryer, etc. is available, it becomes necessary to pry the lid open, which often results in damage to the lid or seal, or both.
Thus, there has been a long-felt need for eliminating the problems associated with frozen vehicle doors or compartment lids. The present invention provides solutions to these problems by providing heated anti-icing seals or a vacuum actuated seal for vehicle doors, compartment lids, etc., whereby the seals are heated by an electrical heat strip embedded in or otherwise secured to the seals, and the vacuum actuated seals are connected to the vacuum source which cause the seals to collapse breaking the frost bead. The heated anti-icing seals are electrically heated, such as by the vehicle's direct current (DC) power supply, or by an associated alternating current (AC) power supply located on or off the vehicle. The invention utilizes electrical clips to connect a power supply to the heated seal. Electrical heating can be controlled by a simple manual switch, a thermostatically controlled switch, a timer actuated switch, or a timer actuated thermostatic switch. The vacuum actuated seals may be controlled by connection via a switch to the vacuum system of the vehicle so as to collapse when the vacuum system is activated.